Latest Comments

Submit Story or Article

iHateTheUSMC is a community effort! 100% of the blog is written by members of the community. Help us tell people what the marine corps is really like and contribute to shaping the future of iHateTheUSMC.com.

Tag: fy-2014-reenlistment-bonus-usmc

I’d like to address a few issues that may seem a bit “out there;” but they’re still important to highlight because it reveals the USMC endorsement of an interesting ideal. Beneath the veneer of what most would call a fairly simple philosophy exists an almost sacramental worldview that has, unfortunately, dismantled almost everything to which the Corps aspires. It is these lapses that should serve as a warning to young people that envision a USMC of reason, moderation, and logic. To begin, I’m a firm believer that “frustration is part of the process.” Frustration is good! Frustration while fixing your car, learning a new trade, reading a difficult book or dealing with an idiosyncratic person is part and parcel to becoming better at life. Frustration builds character. Frustration makes you stronger. Marines love to attach this fact to the rigors of daily life in the Corps by listing the existing challenges and insisting that it’s all good for you. But I beg to differ. In real life, frustration is part of the process. In the USMC, frustration seems to be the goal with no substantial payoff in the end.

In the eyes of the Corps:
– a pt session that begins before the sun rises isn’t sufficient. You need to be yelling at the top of your lungs to demonstrate to your superiors that you’re motivated. Why?
– on Monday morning, your neat and tidy low regulation haircut is an indicator to the SNCOs that you’re not as motivated as you should be. You’re wrong. Why?
– projecting your voice in a manner that allows everyone concerned to hear you is not good enough. You must be louder, even if it’s overkill. Why?
– long and tedious room inspections are somehow analogous to success on the battlefield. Why?
And the list goes on. The main point is that Marines believe everything can be improved upon, even if the subsequent measures make no sense. It’s part of their mentality to be a superior breed of men, even if this brand of superiority is sustained on an intangible and unseen dimension. This reminds me of someone.
Ah, yes- Nietzsche. For you philosophy buffs out there, don’t get the wrong idea about where I’m going with this. I’m not suggesting Marines believe God is dead (far from it), nor am I saying they endorse collectivism. But there are some stark similarities between the man and this institution. Nietzsche created two theories that resonate strongly with the Marines; 1. the Overman, or Superman mentality, which shatters the limitations society has placed on people with extraordinary potential, and 2. tapping into man’s basest instincts. The first theory need not be explained- most everyone will agree that a real Marine pursues his goals with maniacal zeal, and in many respects that should be admired. But there is a backlash, and that comes by way of tapping into the deepest recesses of man’s primal desires in an unrestrained fashion.
The reason why the USMC is now a two-steps-forward-one-step back institution is that they have not yet married the concepts of reason and zeal within the enlisted ranks. Moderation. Marines have a reputation for being the best fighters, runners, lovers and workers due to their love for the Corps. Even though this really isn’t true, it’s a theme they’ve embraced. I’m going to drop another bomb here, and again, it’s not what you might think. Adolf Hitler believed that if you’re going to endorse an ideology, you need to abandon any and all “contemplation” on the issue and embrace it entirely. Balls-to-the- wall energy and passion is the order of the day. What does this rhetoric remind you of? But he also celebrated the lapses his adversaries suffered from by not taking the time to THINK. I suppose I should explain that I’m not calling Marines Nazis, nor am I an adherent to any kind of racial superiority. If you’re going to attack this argument, at least be fair about it.
There is a disconnect running rampant in the Corps, and it’s found most acutely in POG Land. Some of you may be wondering why POGs are some of the most infamous motards. It’s because they’re operating under a distorted view of what it means to be a Marine on the universal level, regardless of how they view it individually. I was an enlisted POG. There is a greater balance between Motivation and Diligence being advocated among the commissioned ranks; so what kind of indictment does this bring down on the enlisted ranks, particularly the POGs? In POG Land, reasonable and mature behavior eclipses college fraternity antics by an unacceptable margin. That 10% is more like 20%, and frankly I think the 10% theory is a cop-out. Conversely, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, who has most likely gone to War College and is classically educated doesn’t tell his commanders to execute a battle plan without a sound strategy. The motivation is effective because he’s attached it to a repertoire of skills his men already possess. In the enlisted ranks, in my experience, it was the opposite: “motivation” was given as a prerequisite in order to accomplish whatever menial task that was assigned for the day.
So I am tempted to say the commissioned ranks are part Nietzsche/part Plato, which is an almost perfect marriage of existence. Nietzsche accused his fellow Germans of thinking too much while Plato encouraged deconstruction and logic. The enlisted ranks are mostly Nietzsche, if you’ll follow the analogy in its proper context (in this sense I’m labeling many enlisted POGs as reactionary and purely instinctual). The Corps is doing its job at the “tip of the tip of the spear” in an effective manner, where the execution of the combat mission is most crucial. But it’s doing something wrong at the lower levels, which is an injustice to many enlisted Marines who are absolutely brilliant at their respective jobs and deserve a reprieve from the childishness of “motivation.” We’re not talking about intellectualism here, where a butter bar who has majored in English literature is pretending to be superior to a LCPL on his third deployment. The issue here is fusing the berserker-like persona of a PFC with the maturity and knowledge of an officer. THAT is the definition of a real Marine, but so few exist.
So to whom am I assigning responsibility for this? If you track down the epidemiology of this “disease” of motardedness, it lies squarely on the shoulders of the SNCOs and the lower recruiting standards. It’s a combination of their lack of combat experience, a lot of overcompensation by way of their self-styled motard antics, and the disillusionment of just waiting for retirement. For a lot of SNCOs, it’s just not fun anymore. As for the latter issue, the standard for the enlistment quotas have gone down the toilet. How can you expect a depraved pedophile, ex con, or juvenile delinquent to learn anything when his superior could be a depraved pedophile, ex con, or juvenile delinquent? You can’t expect optimum results when one cross-eyed nitwit is leading a gaggle of cross-eyed nitwits.